The US could offer to drawn down the more than 25,000 troops stationed in South Korea - a presence that has always been a sticking point for the North Koreans.

This will be the third major inter-Korean summit, decades after the Korean War ended in a cease-fire.

North Korea has long decried the presence of USA troops, and their regular joint drills with South Korean forces, as provocations that could presage an invasion and necessitate Pyongyang's military buildup.

South Korean officials later brokered a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

According to the official, Kim also said he expects the joint drills to be "readjusted" once the security situation on the Korean Peninsula stabilizes.

Moon and Kim plan to make their first telephone conversation sometime before their face-to-face meeting.

A conciliatory New Year's Day message from Kim swiftly saw the reconnection of a cross-border hotline, a development that led to the North's athletes and cultural ambassadors taking part in the South Korean-hosted Winter Games.

Yet, for Washington and Pyongyang, there's a list of other potential goals that could be accomplished through their meeting, including a lasting agreement to end the nearly 70-year state of war on the Korean Peninsula.

The South has more than 60 Global Positioning System there, versus around 160 run by the North, according to an informed source.

"They feel the need to equate their nuclear program with the (US and South Korean) military alliance and claims the military alliance is a nuclear threat, when there's no real grounds for that".

The South Koreans are paying $866million on top of that to fund the United States presence, which means that having the U.S. exit the Korean peninsula will be a significant cost-saving move for both sides, and secure a viable peace with the North.

Mike Pompeo, the Central Intelligence Agency chief soon to become secretary of state, met secretly with Kim a few days ago, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.

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